Hunt: Showdown’s Third Developer Diary Delves into Level Design

Hunt: Showdown’s Third Developer Diary Delves into Level Design

Hunt: Showdown got its third developer diary today, and features many developers discussing the game's complex level design.

Crytek released its third developer diary for its upcoming supernatural multiplayer FPS game Hunt: Showdown today. While the previous two covered the game’s development history and weapons, this third ones delves into level design, giving us a glimpse at some new environments while also detailing why they are set up the way they are.

This video showcases a map in Hunt: Showdown that is 1 square Kilometer. The developers designed it to be very flexible depending on what players do, but it is still helpful if players consider their entire environment before making their next move, whether it be through its designs or the sounds other players make. Environments have also been designed to be very fluid, with there usually being a way to move away from or get out of a sticky situation in most places.

The developers also reveal that some doors in the world may be barricaded, meaning they can only be opened from the inside. To open this, players will either have to shoot the lock through a crevasse in the world, although this will make a lot of noise, or find a sledgehammer or ax nearby to use on it. This video also showcases an area populated with more houses in the daytime, which is a departure from the dark, forested nighttime setting seen in previous videos.

Magnus Larbrant, the game’s Creative Director, also has the following to say in the video about Hunt: Showdown’s level design is playing to Crytek’s strengths, which were demonstrated in games such as Crysis:

“What made this company is open world, sandbox, you’re walking around in a cool environment and you’re approaching compounds—you’re doing this in Crysis, right? And if you take a look at Hunt, you’re in an open world, a sandbox world, you’re moving around compounds, you’re trying to infiltrate them. You have some special powers and stuff like this. A lot of gun play, a first persons hooter. This is why we’re doing this game: we’re playing to the strength of what we know.”

You can check out the new developer diary on level design below. Hunt: Showdown does not yet have a solid release date, but is confirmed for PC. If you want to read DualShockers’ thoughts on the game, you can check out my hands-off preview of the game from this year’s E3.